Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space is a short that manages to be superior to the movie that spawned it. Monsters Vs Aliens is an animated adventure that arrived in cinemas in 2009, with Resse Witherspoon (Big Little Lies) playing Susan, a woman who is struck by a meteor and grows to become a giant. Susan is soon recruited to a secret group of monsters that defend the planet from various threats. This includes an amorphous, chatty blob named B.O.B, voiced by Seth Rogen (Long Shot) and Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie).
Monsters Vs Aliens received decent reviews and box-office, but while it was touted as the start of a new franchise, a sequel didn’t emerge. The movie did strong business in the U.S. but underperformed in a lot of other markets, a fate that befell other Dreamworks productions like Shark Tale with Will Smith (Gemini Man). The studio decided this particular style of animation wasn’t clicking with foreign audiences so Monsters Vs Aliens 2 was canned.
Which isn’t to say the Monsters Vs Aliens franchise immediately fizzled out. The movie spawned short films like B.O.B’s Big Break and Night Of The Living Carrots, some video game spinoffs and a short-lived TV series that debuted in 2013. The best of the bunch - and arguably better than the movie itself - was Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space. This half-hour Halloween special aired on NBC in 2009 and opens with a UFO dropping some mysterious goo on a pumpkin patch. This coincides with Susan taking her monster friends to her hometown for Halloween, only for them to called in to investigate said pumpkin patch.
They soon find the pumpkins have come to life thanks to the goo, and are being led by one dubbed Wicked Jack, voiced by Rainn Wilson (The Office). Like the movie itself, Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space may not do anything particularly original, but this short still manages to pack a lot of charm into its runtime. The cast - especially Rogen and Laurie - have really grown into the characters and the Halloween setting adds to the atmosphere.
Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space is also a good short for younger kids since its spooky without being truly scary. That said, it does throw in easter eggs to movies like Scarface and John Carpenter’s Halloween. The short is a fun continuation of the movie, and for viewers who enjoyed the movie, its the next best thing to a sequel.
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